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Memorial Day 2008

OFFICE OF THE SUPERVISOR

TOWN OF RAMAPO

237 Route 59

Suffern, New York  10901

(845)  357-5100     Fax: (845)  357-3877

Christopher P. St. Lawrence

  SUPERVISOR

ORIGIN AND BIRTHPLACE OF MEMORIAL DAY

May 20, 2008

On May 5, 1868, the Grand Army of the Republic established Memorial Day or Decoration Day as the national day to decorate the graves of the Civil War soldiers with flowers.  Major General John A. Logan appointed May 30th as the day to be observed.  Arlington National Cemetery had the first observance of the day on a grand scale.  The place was appropriate as it already housed graves of over 20,000 Union dead and several hundred Confederate dead.  General and Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant presided over the meeting and the center point of these Memorial Day ceremonies was the mourning-draped veranda of the Arlington mansion.  Speeches were followed by a march of soldiers’ children and orphans and members of the GAR through the cemetery strewing flowers on both Union and Confederate graves.  They also recited prayers and sang hymns for the dead.

Even before this declaration, local observances for these war-dead were being held at various places.  In Columbus, Mississippi, a group of women visited a cemetery on April 25, 1866, to decorate the graves of Confederate soldiers and the Union soldiers who fell at the battle of Siloh.  Many cities in the North and the South claim to be the first to celebrate Memorial Day in 1866 but Congress and President Lyndon Johnson officially declared Waterloo in New York as the “birthplace” of Memorial Day in 1966.  It was said that on May 5, 1866, a ceremony was held here to honor local soldiers and sailors who fought in the Civil War, businesses were closed for the day and residents furled flags at half-mast.  It was said to be the first formal, community-wide and regular event.

In 1971, Memorial Day was declared a national holiday by the Congress who designated the last Monday in May as the day for its observance.  Many states observe separate Confederate Memorial Days.  Mississippi observes it on the last Monday of April, Alabama on the fourth Monday of April, Georgia on April 26th, North and South Carolina on May 10th and Louisiana and Tennessee on June 3rd.  In Tennessee, the day is named as “Confederate Decorations Day” while Texas observes “Confederate Heroes Day” on January 19th.  In Virginia, Memorial Day is better known as “May Confederate Memorial Day”.

God Bless those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our Country.

“The purpose of all war is ultimate peace” – St. Augustine.

Big Screen Classics at the Lafayette Theater, Saturday, May 24th – “City Lights” (1931) starring Charlie Chaplin and Virginia Cherrill.  A brilliant comedy-drama in the silent film tradition about the Little Tramp (Charlie Chaplin) who falls in love with a beautiful blind girl (Virginia Cherrill) selling flowers on the street.  In this tale of blind love, the poor flower girl mistakes the outcast, homeless Tramp for a wealthy Duke.  When the Little Tramp learns that an operation may restore her sight, he sets off to earn the money she needs to have surgery.  In a series of comic escapades that only Chaplin could pull off, he eventually succeeds, even though his efforts land him in jail.  The girl’s sight is restored and she opens up a successful flower shop.  The poignant final scene, in which she recognizes him and discovers that the Little Tramp is not a millionaire is one of the highest moments in film.

Pre-show organ concert with Jeff Barker at 11:00 AM and all feature films begin at 11:30 AM.  Ramapo Seniors are free and all other tickets are $7.00.  For further information, call Phil Tisi at 357-5100 ext. 201.

Salute to our Armed Forces Concert on Sunday, May 25th at the R.C.C. Arts Theater,  doors open at 2:00 PM.  Doo-Wop Sunday featuring live in Concert The Wrenditions and the Tercels.  Tickets are available at the door.